What we love…

Entertaining and humorous stories on a variety of topics that hold children’s interest.

What we’d love to see…

Easy access from each comprehension question to the relevant page in the story for a quick reference and pictorial hints or answer options for younger children.

Summary

This is the reading program to go to if you are looking for high interest books that build confident and keen readers. Having the books in an app makes them more accessible and interactive to young readers.

Our Rating

If there is one thing that I can never refuse my kids, it’s their frequent requests to buy books to read. With 4 kids with different interests, you can imagine how many books and magazines we have at home! But this is a good problem to have. They love to read and I love to see them read.

One reading program that had significant impact on their reading ability and love for reading is the Read with Biff, Chip & Kipper (RBCK) Series, from the Oxford Reading Tree (UK’s number one reading program). My older kids loved to read them (used in their Kindergarten) when they were younger and now my youngest loves them too. I like that the RBCK series have books that teach reading, encourage imagination and satisfy curiosity. I especially like the stories that bring them to different interesting places (like the Palace, Ice City, a Chinese restaurant) and the Magic Key adventures to the desert, mountain, snowy forest, etc. When I got to know that I can find this series in an app, I was so excited that I asked to review the app.

The RBCK app includes a total of 48 interactive eBooks from the Biff, Chip & Kipper Levels 1-6 Collection. There are 4 First Stories and 4 Phonics eBooks in each level. Each book starts by introducing the words or sounds that kids will learn, and some tips for parents to read together with their children. Then the readers will have to choose between 3 reading modes (Read by Myself, Read to Me and Autoplay). There is read-along text highlighting in the ‘Read to Me’ mode but even in the ‘Read by Myself’ mode, your child can have the app read any word by tapping the word or read a whole sentence by pressing and holding the words. Instructions, questions and speech bubbles can all be read by the app and this allows children to enjoy and learn from the books independently.

Then there are interactive spots which add sound effects to the story and at the end of each book, there are a few comprehension questions to get kids to talk about the story plus a fun interactive activity (e.g. matching games, odd-one-out, maze, spot-the-differences, rhyming games) that is related to the story. Just for fun, readers can also collect objects related to the story from the pages like butterflies, shells, animals and mini monsters. These extra features definitely make the app more accessible and interactive compared to the paper books.

This series bring to schools and homes the best of both reading by sight and reading with phonics approaches with stories and characters that appeal to young readers. Key words are repeated throughout the book and each subsequent levels build upon what has been learnt before.

I own a few wonderful book series but there is something about the RBCK series that is keeping my youngest interested for longer than usual. After watching him read a few of his favorite RBCK books, I realized that it’s the humor and silly things that the adults in the stories do that had him captivated. He frequently seeks out this app to read on his iPod and has read all of the 48 books! This alone is enough reason for me to recommend the RBCK series to anyone who is looking for a high interest, high quality yet affordable reading series that build keen and confident readers. Used in many schools all over the world, it is an effective reading program that you can trust. Check out the video below and download the Free Read with Biff, Chip & Kipper: Library to enjoy 2 free books right away!!

The complete series of 48 eBooks are on sale at $28.99, down from $64.99 for a limited time. At less than 50 cents per book, this is definitely a bargain you don’t want to miss!

Giveaway

If you would like to win a promo code for Read with Read with Biff, Chip & Kipper: Levels 4-6 (24 books), please enter via the widget below. Please ensure you have read and understand our Terms & Conditions. Good luck!

Grace was working in the fields of early childhood education and staff training before quitting to attend to her 4 children full time. She and her family live in Singapore, which is well known for her highly competitive education system.

27 Comments

Lyn Harper
on September 14, 2014 at 5:13 pm

I like how children can touch a word and hear it and listen to whole sentences and interact continually. Really encourages reading.

This app is so amazing because the children can tap a word to hear it and they can listen to the whole sentence too. I think children love the fact that they have to find things in the story (pigeons for example) and the stories are also funny and entertaining. It is a wonderful app to learn to read. As a parent/teacher I love the fact that the main sounds are mentioned at the beginning. And of course the comprehension questions at the end are a big plus!

My son likes the books for level 1-3 at the moment and he is just starting to read. It is the best app we have and he loves it and encourages him to read more. He likes it when you press the word yourself and it says it

I like the way it reads the books, and there is text highlighting in the ‘Read to Me’ mode but also has ‘Read by Myself’ mode. I also like the extra activitys

Bonnie Bobeck
on September 11, 2014 at 11:34 pm

I like this series of books because they are showing my struggling autistic son that books are fun and that although learning to read is hard for him he can still enjoy the process. Just wish I could afford more books especially while they are discounted, but we can’t. Winning this would potentially get him over the hump from struggling into actually reading!

Christina
on September 10, 2014 at 3:15 pm

Interactive reading with comprehension questions

Wassi Chamsy Homeschooling
on September 9, 2014 at 6:54 pm

it would help my daughter to read english!

Stacey
on September 7, 2014 at 12:00 am

We are big readers at our house! This would help my daughter immensely!

Daphne chelliah
on September 6, 2014 at 12:34 am

Daughter is starting to learn to read

Muffet Ali
on September 5, 2014 at 8:42 pm

I am a teacher with a young son. I bet both my students and my little one would love these books! 😀

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Meet the iMums

The iMums - Amanda, Alison, Mary and Grace - are four mothers from different parts of the world dedicated to informing parents about the best digital stories, educational apps, fun games and technology products available for their children. We also offer the latest news in apps for kids, interesting articles, developer interviews, free apps and regular giveaways! Read more.

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